Trouser topping apparatus and pleatsetter therefor



F. H. RICHTERKESSING ETAL 3, 35

June 15, 1965 TROUSER TOPPING APPARATUS AND PLEAT-SETTER THEREFOR 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 25, 1962 INVENTORS FRANK H PJCHTERKESS 1 N6WALTER M lNGOLD BY [1L ATTORNEY June 15, 1965 F. H. RICHTERKESSING ETAL3,189,235

TROUSER TOPPING APPARATUS AND PLEAT-SETTER THEREFOR Filed April 25, 19622 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS FRAN K H RKZHTERKE'SSNG WALTER M \NGOLD BY M,F. aw/MK ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,189,235 TRGIJSER TUFPINGAPPARATUS, AND PLEAT- SET'IER THEREFQR Frank H. Richterhessing andWalter. M. .Engold, both of Louisville, Ky., assignors to W. M. CisseilMannfactun ing Company, Louisviile, Ky., a corporation of Kentucky FiledApr. 25, 1962, Ser. No. 19%,608 Claims. (Cl. 223--72) This inventionrelates to trouser topping apparatus and more particularly to suchapparatus equipped with improved pleat setting devices.

Present day garment finishers, including trouser topping machines,embody many features contributing to improved. output by the operator ofthe machine, both as to quality and quantity of work, but the advantagesexpected from thesefeatures are frequently diminished when the workentails the topping of trousers having pleats. 'It is a purpose of thepresent invention to provide an apparatus which will permit the operatorto top pleated trousers in an efficient manner and while taking fulladvantage of the inherent capabilities of the machine with which he isworking.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved trouser toppingapparatus adapted for finishing pleated trousers and with a reducedamount of exertion on the part of the operator.

Another object is to provide an improved pleat-setter for use withtrouser topping apparatus.

A further object is to provide an improved mounting for a pleat-setterenabling the operator readily to accomplish necessary changes inclamping pressures.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparentas the description proceeds and when considered in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a trouser topping apparatus embodyingthe invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the right hand pleat-setter shown in relationto the top of the housing and while occupying its normal raisedposition.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the pleat-setter shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a face view of anassembled pleat-setter plate as viewed fromthe operators position.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 5A is a detail view to an enlarged scale showing the engagement ofone foot of the brace with the plate.

FIG. 6 is a sectional View taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a view of the rear face of a guide for the counter balancedlever and FIG. 8 is an explodedview. showing to a larger scale theseveral parts of one form of adjustment employed in adjust-ing theclamping position of the pleat-setter upon thebuck.

In accordance with the invention there is provided a right hand and "aleft hand pleat-setter of similar construction and pivotally mountedupon a trouser topping housing for movement by the operator from a firstelevated position out of contact with the buck to a second loweredposition in clamping contact with the pleats of the trousers emplaced onthat buck. The pleat-setters are so mounted as to bring thepleat-engaging faces of their clamping plates to their final clampingposition as they reach their lowered position and without requiring anysupplemental latching or additional clamping movement which would entaila further effort on the part of the operator. The mounting of thepleat-setters, more over, provides for necessary adjustment of theirclamping Ii,l89,235

plates in order to take care of variation in thickness of pleats orcompression of the padding of the buck after continued use.

Referring first to FIGS. 1 to 3, the pleat-setter of the presentinventionmay be employed with many types of trouser topping apparatus,but for purposes of illustration, and not by way of limitation, it isparticularly well suited for use with the labor-saving topping apparatusdisclosed and claimed in copending application Serial No. 184,627, filedMarch 12, 1962, and assigned to the same assignce as the presentinvention. Such an apparatus includes a generally vertical hollowhousing with a base 10, side walls 11 and 12, a generally vertical backwall 13, a sloping front wall 14 and an air duct extending generallyhorizontally from the top of the vertical housing. The air duct includesright and left sidewalls 15 and 16, a curved front wall 17 confrontingthe operator at a convenient working height, an imperforate top 18, anda floor 1'9 which h-as a downwardly facing opening adjacent the frontwall 17. Depending from that front wall is a buck and bag assembly whichreceives heated, air from a suit-able blower and heater mounted in thevertical housing, such air passing under suitable pressure controlthrough the opening into the communicating mouth of the bag 20; Thepadded buck as indicated generally at 21 has a convex outer facecomprising right and left abdominal portions with a crotch portiontherebetween. A steam system furnishes steam for heating the buck, forconditioning the trousers prior to supply of heated air, and for heatingthe air. An arrayof controls as indicated at 22, 23, 24, is clustered onthe front of wall 17; for ready hand-manipulation by the operator.Moreover, a waist-expander control member 25 also is located on thisfront wall and a damper-setting member 26 likewise is arranged withineasy reach of the operator, as on a forward part of the side wall 15.

Passing now to FIGS. 2 and 3, the right hand pleatsetter is shownandtheleft hand pleat-setteris omitted in the interest of clarity, it beingunderstood that right hand signifies the member as related to theoperators use of his hands and not to the pleats of the trousers. Inproducing quality work, it is desirable, that the pleats be set in closeconformity to the tailored cut of the trousers, and this may best beachieved with a convex shaped buck in cooperation with a concave shapedclamping plate. The present invention recognizes this factor and each ofthe plates 30 and 31 seen in FIG. 1, and which have a size suitable forsetting all of the pleats to one side of the fiyof the trousers, are soshaped. In order, however, to bring such a plate into properjuxtaposition with the pleats of the trousers a suitable adjustablemount-ing must be provided, as now to be. described with respect toplatefil.

Upon a shelf 32, interiorly of the vertical housing, a stationary axle33 is fixed and projects outwardly from side wall 15, as best seen inFIG. 2. A massive counter weight 34 having a boss 35-witha firstcylindrical bore therethrough for receiving the axle 33, and journalledupon the axle by means of bushings 36 and 37 is provided. The boss alsohas a tubular portion 35A extending generally normal, to-the portion oftheboss'enclosing the axle, and having a second bore 38 therethroughextending at right angles to the first bore and space therefrom forreception of the distal end ofthe lever arm 39. This lever arm isadapted for both axial and angular adjustment with respect to thc bore38 in which it engages, for a purpose later to appear, and in apreferred form the lever arm comprises a hollow tube having an outerdiam-- eter. giving a close fit with the inner diameter of bore 38. Asseen in FIG. 8, an expander arrangement may be used and in which anaxially threaded plug it) is posi- Patented June 15, 19565 i Q tionedwithin tube 39 adjacent the ent y of that tube into bore 33 and withthat plug having a rear cam face 41 of a prescribed slope. The extremeend of the tube is formed with one or more axial slots 42. A removablehollow spacer 43 having a front cam face 44 of a different slope t anthat of cam face 4-1, and a fiat back face 45 normal to the axis of thespacer, cooperates with the plug to cause an expanding action of theslotted end of the tube when a threaded bolt 46 is engaged in the thrads of the plug and tightened thereon. The spacer has a bore 427 ofsubstantially greater diameter than the bolt and also a washer 48 servesas an abutment for the head of the bolt in adjusting the expanderassembly. Accordingly, the lever arm 39 may be adjusted both to vary thelength of the radius on which the plate 31 moves and to vary the angularsetting of the concave surface of the plate against the cooperatingconvex surface of the buck. Such adjustment, however, in no wayinterferes with the normal counter balancing action of the counterWeight.

The arm 39 is of substantial length to achieve optimum leverage aboutthe fulcrum 33 and at a suitable distance from that fulcrum carries atubular slide 50 having an outer diameter which engages with a closesliding fit in a slot 51 within an arcuate guide 52 rigidly fixed to theside wall 15 of the air duct. Suitable resilient latches 53 and 54extending into the slot serve to engage the slide at its extremes oftravel and to hold the pleat-setter either at its elevated firstposition as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1, or at its lowered secondposition.

At its proximate end the lever arm is bent downwardly and is furnishedwith a handle 55. Above this handle a short laterally extending member49 having a ball 56 at its far end is rigidly but removably attached tothe arm 39. As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the pleat-setter plate is formedof a metallic material having closely spaced small holes therethroughfor passage of the steam and hot air issuing from the buck 21 andpassing through the trousers interposed between the plate and that buck.

in a preferred form, the face of the plate which engages with the fabricof the trousers is provided with a chemically etched texturized surfacewhich serves to effect a firm grip upon that fabric as the plate ismoved to the clamping position. The actual method of forming thistexturized surface forms no part of the present invention and may beaccomplished by conventional photo lithographical chemical etchingprocedures.

An outwardly facing upstanding peripheral ridge 57 is formed on theplate and against this ridge a cruciform brace is anchored and serves asa resilient attachment of the plate to the ball 56. This brace is formedof metal and includes four feet 59, as, 61 and 62 with upturned endspressing against the ridge of the plate as seen in FIG. 5A and with anelevated central section 63 having a hole therein to accommodate theball 56. An inner ball retainer plate 64 and a corresponding outer ballretainer plate 65 are disposed upon opposite sides of the centralsection as and joined by three clamping screws 66, 67 and 63, as seen inFIG. 4. A pair of tension springs 69 and 7t; having their ends engagedin the ridge 5'7 and with the springs passing over the feet 59 and 61 incontact with the outer surface of the same thus serve to cradle theplate to the brace which itself is held upon the ball by means 5 theretainer plates. This cradling of the plate serves the useful purpose ofpermitting the pleat-engaging face of the plate to adjust itself to thelay of the pleat with which it engages. The brace is resilient and theextreme ends of its feet are held in movable contact with the eripheralridge as seen in FIG. 5A. Also, the springs 69 and 76 are resilient andwhile holding the plate to the brace permit flexing movement of thatbrace such as occurs when the plate seats itself upon the laid pleats.

The above described plate and lever arm mountings form an importantfeature of the invention, since, as known, heavy pressure by thepleat-setter against the trousers may produce a hard finish on thefabric and show seam imprinting, while on the other hand a very lightpressure may allow the pleat lay to shift during the application of airpressure and thus show wrinkles with an improperly shaped pleat. Thesedangers are substantially, if not entirely eliminated, by the plate andlever arm mountings herein described, particularly when employed withpleat-setter plates having a texturized surface as above described. Forexample, to adjust plate 31 with the texturized clamping surface to anoptimum clamping relation with the buck, one merely loosens the screws65d, 67 and and the bolt in in the counterweight. The lever arm 39 isthen adjusted longitudinally and the bolt 46 is secured after which thescrews are tightened. While the bolt as is loosened, the lever arm is,of course, moved angularly to its best clamping position, a clockwiserotation of the right hand arm serving to increase the pressure of plate31 on the buck and a counterclockwise rotation serving to decrease thatpressure. Furthermore, the cruciform brace itself is thin enough toprovide a useful resilient backing for that plate when it is broughtinto clamping contact with the pleats of the trousers. The guide 52located between the ends of the lever arm also will assure that afterthe plate is properly indexed with respect to the buck, movement of thelever arm will thereafter bring the plate into its predeterminedposition when that arm is lowered.

Having thus described a preferred form of pleat-setter, the utilizationof the same in a normal trouser topping operation may be briefly notedas follows. With the trousers in place on the padded buck and with thepleats suitably preconditioned with steam and laid in place, theoperator with one motion of his hand lowers the appropriate lever armagainst the bias of its counterweight. The companion lever arm is thenlowered and the automatic cycle of steam and air supply is effectedafter which the lever arms are raised and then held in elevated positionby their counterweights. During movement of the ever arms from theirelevated first positions to their lowered clamping or second positions,the inner faces of the pleatsetter plates 36 and 31' are always inconfronting relation to the buck surfaces with which they are tocooperate. Of especial import rice, the travel of these plates on afixed radius will completely position the pleat-setter with rcspcc tothat buck and will completely clamp the pleats of the trousers againstthe buck as the normally uninterrupted movement of those plates fromtheir first to their second positions is concluded. The use of togglemeans, separate positioning and clamping motions or the like, as foundin conventional apparatus, is thus avoided and serves to relieve theoperator of fatigue and to increase his output of work. In the eventthat a laid pleat should shift, it is a simple matter for the operatorto raise the plate slightly, relay the pleat, and then again lower theplate.

As further noted from FIGS. 1 and 2, the pleat-setters move in verticaldirections to one side of the center line of the air duct portion of theapparatus and at no time interfere with the visual or manual access ofthe operator to the necessary controls of the machine.

With the above description in mind, it will be apparent thatmodifications may be made without departing from the invention and it isintended by the appended claims to cover all such modifications andvariations as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a trouser topping apparatus, a buck having a convex outer surfaceadapted for removably supporting a pair of pleated trousers, said outersurface being convex both along its transverse vertical axis and alongits transverse horizontal axis, a housing portion for supplying prcessing fluids to said buck, said housing portion having forward andrearward ends and. side walls therebetween generally horizontallydisposed at a convenient working height and supporting said buck at theforward end of said housing portion, a pair of pleat-setters eachcomprising an elongated lever arm with forward and rearward sections,means pivotally connecting said lever arms adjacent their rearwardsections upon the respective side walls of said housing and adjacent therearward end of said horizontal portion of said housing thereby toeffect a substantial leverage for movement of said arms, and apleat-setter plate adjustably attached to each of said lever armsadjacent the forward sections thereof, and with concave pleat-engagingfaces, said pleat-engaging faces being concave both along theirtransverse vertical axis and along their transverse horizontal axis,said pleat-setters each being movable in a generally vertical directionbetween a raised first position out of contact with said buck and alowered second position in which said pleat-setters areadapted toconfine pleats of trousers between said buck and said plates, thereby toeffect, during movement of either pleat-setter to its second positionabout a fixed radius equal to the distance between the pivotal axis ofsaid arm and the point of attachment of the plate to the arm, the finalclamping of said pleats against the buck.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said lever arms includecounter weights at the rearward sections thereof arranged to bias saidlever arms and pleat-setters toward said raised first position.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 including means for adjusting theposition of said lever arms longitudinally and angularly of said armswith respect to axes about which said arms are pivoted.

4. In a trouser topping apparatus, a buck having a convex outer surfaceadapted for removably supporting a pair of pleated trousers, said outersurface being convex both along its transverse vertical axis and alongthe transverse horizontal axis, a housing portion for supplyingprocessing fluids to said buck and having a generally horizontal portionwith forward and rearward ends and side walls therebetween disposed at aconvenient working height and supporting said buck at the forward end ofsaid housing portion, a pair of pleat-setters each comprising anelongated lever arm with forward and rearward sections, means pivotallyattaching said lever arms adjacent their rearward sections upon therespective walls of said housing and adjacent the rearward end of saidhorizontal portion of said housing thereby to effect a substantialleverage for movement of said arms, and pleat-setter plates having meansfor adjustably attaching said plates to the lever arms adjacent theforward sections thereof and with concave pleat-engaging faces, saidpleat-engaging faces being concave both along their transverse verticalaxis and along their transverse horizontal axis, said adjustableattaching means each including a ball member rigidly attached to saidlever arm and ball encompassing means carried by said plate thereby toprovide a ball joint aiding in selfadjustment of the concave face ofsaid plate to the lay of pleats of trousers, said pleat-setters beingmovable in a generally vertical direction between a raised firstposition out of contact with said buck and a loweredsecond posi tion inwhich said pleat-setters are adapted to confine pleats of trousersbetween said buck and said plate.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein said plate includes anintegral peripheral ridge portion formed on the side opposite thepleat-engaging face thereof, a brace separate from said plate and havingfeet engageable against said ridge and a central portion spaced from thecentral portion of said plate and attachable to said ballencompassingmeans, and means anchored to said plate and encompassing said bracethereby to cradle said plate and to assist in the self-adjustmentthereof as it is brought into contact with trouser pleats.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 5 wherein said brace is flexible andwherein said means anchored to said plate and encompassing said bracecomprises springs.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,437,372 11/ 22Walters 27730 X 1,597,707 8/26 Andree 223-57 X 2,453,488 11/48 Bowen2237O 2,723,062 11/55 Rosenthal 223--73 2,772,039 11/56 Hoover et a122373 2,908,427 10/59 De Fino et al 22373 2,910,791 11/59 Behrstock38-66 3,052,388 9/62 Mutolese 223-57 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

THOMAS J. HICKEY, Examiner.

1. IN A TROUSER TOPPING APPARATUS, A BUCK HAVING A CONVEX OUTER SURFACEADAPTED FOR REMOVABLY SUPPORTING A PAIR OF PLEATED TROUSERS, SAID OUTERSURFACE BEING CONVEX BOTH ALONG ITS TRANSVERSE VERTICAL AXIS AND ALONGITS TRANSVERSE HORIZONTAL AXIS, A HOUSING PORTION FOR SUPPLYINGPROCESSING FLUIDS TO SAID BUCK, SAID HOUSING PORTION HAVING FORWARD ANDREARWARD ENDS AND SIDE WALLS THEREBETWEEN GENERALLY HORIZONTALLYDISPOSED AT A CONVENIENT WORKING HEIGHT AND SUPPORTING SAID BUCK AT THEFORWARD END OF SAID HOUSING PORTION, A PAIR OF PLEAT-SETTERS EACHCOMPRISING AN ELONGATED LEVER ARM WITH FORWARD AND REARWARD SECTIONS,MEANS PIVOTALLY CONNECTING SAID LEVER ARMS ADJACENT THEIR REARWARDSECTIONS UPON THE RESPECTIVE SIDE WALLS OF SAID HOUSING AND ADJACENT THEREARWARD END OF SAID HORIZONTAL PORTION OF SAID HOUSING THEREBY TOEFFECT A SUBSTANTIAL LEVERAGE FOR MOVEMENT OF SAID ARMS, AND APLEAT-SETTER PLATE ADJUSTABLY ATTACHED TO EACH OF SAID LEVER ARMSADJACENT THE FORWARD SECTIONS THEREOF, AND WITH CONCAVE PLEAT-ENGAGINGFACES, SAID PLEAT-ENGAGING FACES BEING CONCAVE BOTH ALONG THEIRTRANSVERSE VERTICAL AXIS AND ALONG THEIR TRANSVERSE HORIZONTAL AXIS,SAID PLEAT-SETTERS EACH BEING MOVABLE IN A GENERALLY VERTICAL DIRECTIONBETWEEN A RAISED FIRST POSITION OUT OF CONTACT WITH SAID BUCK AND ALOWERED SECOND POSITION IN WHICH SAID PLEAT-SETTERS ARE ADAPTED TOCONFINE PLEATS OF TROUSERS BETWEEN SAID BUCK AND SAID PLATES, THEREBY TOEFFECT, DURING MOVEMENT OF EITHER PLEAT-SETTER TO ITS SECOND POSITIONABOUT A FIXED RADIUS EQUAL TO THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE PIVOTAL AXIS OFSAID ARM AND THE POINT OF ATTACHMENT OF THE PLATE TO THE ARM, THE FINALCLAMPING OF SAID PLEATS AGAINST THE BUCK.